Evolution of Christmas Clothes. How much Has Changed in the Last Hundred Years
Since I was little, for me Christmas is the most magical holiday of all! These days are full of charm; and also moments when we look back into the past and remember the old times. And perhaps also because of that I have prepared an article which will not only tell you more about the history of festive (Christmas) fashion of the last hundred years, but some fragments will perhaps bring you back your childhood memories. So let´s go to it!
Christmas 1920 - all things calf-length
The choice of dress for Christmas Eve Dinner mostly fell on shorter-length evening gowns, sometimes to the knee. One of the most fashionable ones was a silver pleated dress. Women removed from their wardrobes for good all decorative elements which used to turn them still at the turn of the 19th and 20th century into decorative, representative puppets of their successful husbands.
The idol of the time was the flapper girl i.e. a little bird. This modern woman was independent, elegant, witty and she tried at any price to provide her guests with dazzling entertainment. Therefore, any posh Christmas dinner required champagne, luxury cigarettes and sometimes even a little bit of cocaine. It was simply the time of seductive jazz and wild foxtrot! The most popular Christmas carol? “Silent Night” by Josef Mohr and Franz Gruber.
Christmas 1950 - dawn of curves
In the 1950s, vogue placed emphasis on the highlighting of feminine curves! Dresses or blouses were cinched at the waist and skirts were either wide or contrariwise clinging to the hips. The length of the skirt was usually to the knees, never any longer!
One of the most popular Christmas colour combinations was red and white. Fantastic example here is a red dress decorated with white fur trim, perfectly matching a white hat made of fox fur. That is what I call style!
Christmas 1980 - long live chunky sweaters
The eighties were quite colourful and there was no shortage of the permed hairstyle either. At Christmas, cutaway white blouses finely decorated by lace in combination with a classic A-line skirt were the thing. If you were at that time just a teenager or a child, the classic drainpipe trousers with a chunky sweater was a safe bet. Unfortunately, there were also some parents who dressed their children into beige stockings and appalling biting polo necks. On the other hand, these people now have the funniest retro photos ever! And the top of the charts Christmas carol? Here, definitely "Jingle Bells" (1981) sung by Hanka Zagorová.
Christmas 1990 - Shopping BOOM
After the revolution, much has changed specifically in our country. There was a giant shopping boom when people started to buy all kinds of electronics, but also clothes of new brands. Personally, I remember how I, as a small child admired, when my mother got her first Dior pearl necklace and a giant fox fur coat. Capitalism equals freedom in business, and it all looked accordingly. And who had the greatest Christmas hits? Definitely Helena Vondráčková who designed her Christmas CDs of that time in the American style. The best song was called "Christmas" (1995).
Present - Teetering on the edge
Today it is very questionable what to wear on Christmas Day. Some go for the classic, represented by a white blouse with a black pencil skirt, then there are also barbarians in tracksuits, but I go for greater imagination. As I have already said above, Christmas go hand-in-hand with red. And that´s why I would not be afraid to combine a luxury hand-knitted sweater with an elegant floor-length skirt of a loose cut. Add a bolder piece of jewellery and that´s it!
So Merry Christmas to you and don´t forget to play with the idea of a Christmas outfit. I personally imagine it like this:
